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Who are NASCAR fans?
This
article summarizes a recent ESPN poll on NASCAR fans.
The results - the average NASCAR fan is most likely to be a
white male, between the ages of 25 and 54, though over 41% are
now female. Only 54.5% had household incomes above
$30,000 (which means 45.5% have household incomes below
$30,000 - not far from poverty level, but it's apparent what
little disposable income they must have goes toward NASCAR
tickets) and a NASCAR fan is 21% less likely to have a college
degree than the general population. And last, it's clear
NASCAR isn't just a southeast USA sport anymore, though 38.2%
do live there today.

7/21/02

Revised New Hampshire track
panned
The newly revamped surface of the 1.058-mile New Hampshire
facility created problems Sunday afternoon in the NASCAR
Winston Cup New England 300. Seven cautions flew in the first
123 laps -- all for accidents -- but the last two were
directly caused by the track surface, the participants said.
After harsh criticism by crew chief Greg Zipadelli, NASCAR
managing director of competition Gary Nelson went out on the
track in a speedway safety vehicle and reported that the new
asphalt was not coming apart, but that tire fragments were not
adhering to the pavement, creating an extreme "marbly"
condition. "It's just so frustrating," Zipadelli said. "To
come here to a place you love and that you run so good at -- I
don't know. The place has got no grip; you can't race on it
(and) the asphalt is coming up all over the place. "We just
got up a little bit out of the groove -- but there is no
groove, that's the frustrating part. He got in the junk and
wrecked a perfectly good race car that was running in the top
five all day and that's frustrating. Nobody loves this place
any more than I do but there's nobody that probably hates
coming here as much as I do, right now. "It's. . .it's. . .
it's not racing -- you can't pass, you can't do anything --
and now the race track is coming up. I don't know what the
answer is. I just know that it's frustrating and you're taking
a chance on hurting the driver like that." "All I know is what
the spotter said -- he (Stewart) just got in there and the car
just took off," Zipadelli said. "It was kind of the same thing
that happened to the 45 car. There's no grip out there, so
you're just riding around in the night." The racetrack was
reconfigured in April with a lane of new asphalt laid in the
turns. "We love coming up here and racing here," Ward Burton's
crew chief, Tommy Baldwin -- another Northeast native -- said.
"But they've got to do something with this track so we can do
some passing here."

7/21/02

Schumacher win under protestUPDATE After the race, the
stewards examined video evidence and talked to Kimi Raikkonen
and Michael Schumacher about the latter passing the former in
the yellow-flag zone created by Allan McNish’s stranded
Panasonic Toyota. The stewards decided to take no action
against Schumacher, and thus his win and his championship
stand. The West McLaren-Mercedes team said it would not file
an appeal. 7/21/02 - Michael Schumacher's victory in the French Grand Prix at
Magny-Cours is under protest based accusations that he passed
McLaren rival Kimi Raikkonen under local yellow flags. McLaren
team boss Ron Dennis has claimed that Schumacher overtook
Raikkonen under yellow flags that were on display at the
Adelaide hairpin after Allan McNish spun off on his Toyota's
own oil. Raikkonen also hit the oil, which caused him to run
wide, and Schumacher chose to overtake him on the exit of the
corner, apparently before the green flag was being shown.
"Kimi entered a yellow flag zone and Michael overtook before
there was a green one to let him pass," said Dennis. "The
regulation is explicit. Kimi was overtaken under a yellow
flag."

7/21/02

Did you notice?
Did you notice that only 18 cars started today's French GP,
the same number on CART grids these days? The race was
still good, the attendance fantastic, and it really didn't
make a big difference.

7/21/02Super Bikes

Photos from Mazda Raceway Our
Mike Veglia was at last weekends World Super Bike race at
Mazda Raceway in Laguna Seca, California and shot these
photos.

7/21/02Industry News

Effort underway to bring major
motorsports to Bahamas Bahamas Motorsports has been
formed to actively propose the re-introduction of the famous
Nassau Speedweeks at the identical location as in the past . A
spokesperson for Bahamas Motorsports said : 'About a year ago
a local Hot Rod group obtained a 50-year lease from the
Government of The Bahamas to develop a Quarter Mile strip and
associated amenities. Bahamas Motorsports has signed an
agreement with BHRA to work together to create a broader based
Motorsports proposal and are actively seeking potential
investor groups or investor to participate in this proposal.
It will be recalled that Nassau Speedweeks became
internationally famous at the Oakes Field, Nassau location
from the early 1950's thru the late 1960's and attracted the
rich and famous to Nassau to Race and party. Leading this
proposal is Gerry Wirth, a promoter and Event organizer who
has already successfully re-introduced Powerboat racing, The
Atlantis Bahamas Superboat Challenge , which requires the
powerboats to race thru Nassau Harbor around Paradise Island
and the famous Billion dollar resort of Atlantis. We do
not see a sophisticated circuit as that would require a
considerable capital investment but a mix of a road and fixed
circuit, approx. 2.3 miles long, with 3-4 International Series
annually. With the Aruba project now in litigation we finally
see that Nassau has an opportunity, Wirth commented.' The new
Government of The Bahamas, only recently elected, May 2, 2002,
has indicated that they wish to proceed with their proposal
for 'Sports Tourism' and the re-introduction of Motorsports -
Nassau Speedweeks would go along way to create this. The
spokesperson further confirmed that they intend attracting a 'superbike
event' and possibly a Caribbean version of The Island of Man
TT Races. The Bahamas has a large young population and it is
conservatively estimated that such events would attract over
30,000 daily spectators without any visitors. Promoter Gerry
Wirth is associated with Pit Lane Productions, plc., a leading
British Motorsports media and support agency. Bahamas
Motorsports can be contacted at e-mail:
wirth@coralwave.com
for further details. Investor enquiries are welcomed.

7/21/02

Autoweek calls for Unser to
hang it up The Editor of Autoweek, Dutch Mandel, in
this
article says - it's time for Unser Jr. to head off
into the sunset after disgracing his family, sport and
me......If the Indianapolis 500’s Tony George has any stones
at all, instead of helping cover up for Unser, as he
reportedly has done, he would point Al toward New Mexico,
stake him in a tire store and reserve hero status for those
who know how to behave. Al, you’ve shamed yourself, your
family and your sport. It’s time to head off into the sunset,
pard.

7/21/02

IRL future riding on Penske's
coattails This Tennessean
article says - The future of major open-wheel racing
in the United States might have been parked in three garage
stalls at Nashville Superspeedway last night. There sat a
small, gleaming fleet, radiant down to the high-gloss shine on
the tires of its lavishly-appointed tractor-trailers and
buses.....all belonging to Roger Penske. And there are
those who believe the feud between Championship Auto Racing
Teams (CART) and the Indy Racing League (IRL) was effectively
settled the second Penske left the former to sign with the
latter in December. ''We made the move anticipating the
future,'' Penske said. ''I like oval racing … our drivers were
all for it and quite honestly I know I made the right
decision.''

7/21/02

Scheckter wants out of the IRL,
and Cheever ready to boot him UPDATE
According to the Indy Star, If Eddie Cheever Jr. has his way,
he'll have a new Indy Racing League teammate by next weekend's
race at Michigan. The 1998 Indianapolis 500 winner said after
Saturday night's Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Superspeedway
that rookie Tomas Scheckter has too many unforced errors to
continue. Scheckter crashed for the sixth time Saturday, and
that does not include the ill-advised pass that forced Cheever
into the wall in Homestead, Fla., in March. Cheever, whom
Scheckter blamed for his crash Saturday, said he'll try to
test a new driver Tuesday, if he can find a track on short
notice. It remains to be seen if Cheever, a partner with Red
Bull and Formula One team owner Tom Walkinshaw, has the clout
to get Scheckter ousted in midseason. "It's ridiculous,
unbelievably ridiculous," Cheever said of Scheckter's high
number of incidents. "He has all the talent in the world to
drive a race car fast. But I'm starting to wonder if there's
an inability to learn with him." 7/21/02 -
Tomas Scheckter does not look happy these days. Not
happy with his boss, and not happy that's he losing road
course seat time and painting himself as a oval track driver.
That may ultimately kill any F1 aspirations he has.
There's no question the guy is fast, and the sooner he gets a
ride in CART, and the road races that come with it, the
better. After he hit the wall yet again in Nashville
Saturday night, Scheckter was overheard on the radio saying
"why did you push me high Eddie, why me, why me. I'm
your teammate. Thanks a lot Eddie." Does that
sound like a driver looking to stay with Cheever's team?

7/21/02

IRL's Nashville attendance less
than 25,000UPDATE The Tennessean
reports - The race was an announced sellout, although
not all the approximately 25,000 seats were filled. Dover
Motorsports, the parent company of Nashville Superspeedway,
does not disclose attendance figures. 7/21/02 - Last nights IRL race was announced as a sellout at the
Nashville Raceway. The seating capacity at the track was
only 25,000 last year, though perhaps they added some
grandstands this year.

7/21/02

Eng wins F3000 race
Czech charger Tomas Enge has moved a step closer to Frenchman
Sebastien Bourdais' championship lead by winning the F3000
race at Magny-Cours yesterday. Enge had to fight for his race
win, though; a misfire in the closing laps meaning that
defensive driving entered the fray. A safety-car period arose
after 12 laps after Nicolas Kiesa and Derek Hill clashed at
the final corner. The American rolled his contender, emerging
without injury.

Nashville crash fest costly for
financially strapped teams One has to wonder
how many more teams will eventually go bankrupt from the
numerous IRL crash fest races. No fewer than six cars found
the wall in Nashville, in part due to a concrete track offers
no grip outside the racing groove. As we have pointed
out on numerous occasions, open-wheel oval track racing is
very expensive, because a crash on and oval track almost
always cost at least $100,000. Foyt lost three cars last
night and now the teams load up and go right to Michigan
International Speedway next Sunday. Total damage in
Nashville Saturday night was well over $1 million, far more
than the race purse. This Tennessean
article summarizes the costly crash fest.

7/20/02

Washington
DC neighbors get an earful This is what you get with
normally aspirated race engines. Race cars that are too loud
for city street races. Neighborhood frustration over the new
racetrack at RFK Stadium climaxed yesterday as the opening of
the inaugural Cadillac Grand Prix brought deafeningly loud
cars to within 50 feet of homes in the Northeast neighborhood
of Kingman Park (see photo to right). Sound barriers, which
race officials had promised would be up in time for the first
race, were only 75 percent installed when the first cars took
the track at 9 a.m., and residents questioned their efficacy
once they were fully in place about noon. The sound of the
cars, which reach speeds of more than 150 mph, reached a roar
each time the cars made their way around the track and onto a
straightaway parallel to Oklahoma Avenue NE. Residents' gripes
primarily targeted Mayor Anthony A. Williams, a big supporter
of the races, which run through Sunday. "This is blatant
disrespect on the mayor's part. Our neighborhood might not be
as high-income as the other side of town, but that doesn't
mean you can ignore us," said Vince Jackson, an Oklahoma
Avenue resident. Read the full Washington Times
article.

7/20/02

Button to announce new rideUPDATE Expect to see
Button with the BAR team. See rumors page.
7/20/02 - Jenson Button will announce his new team at a press conference
next week. "I was slightly surprised at the decision because
this season has been good and the team has done a terrific
job," said Button. "I think Jarno and I have worked well as
team-mates. So, yes, I did have a feeling of slight shock at
the news." Asked about his future, Button said: "I cannot say
exactly, but I think I am in good shape for next year. "I am
looking forward to the opportunity. Obviously, at this time, I
am not able to say any more, certainly not for a few days. But
I know what I am doing and where I am going." Button's manager
John Byfield said: "I am pleased to say that Jenson does have
a secure contract so that his future in F1 is assured. "We
will be making a formal press conference during the course of
this coming week with Jenson's new team."

7/20/02

Leitzinger beats Gentilozzi to
win DC
race
Rookie Butch Leitzinger and veteran Paul Gentilozzi waged a
stirring battle over the final dozen laps Saturday before
Leitzinger came away with a victory in the inaugural Capital
Trans-Am 100, Round 6 of the 2002 Trans-Am Series for the
BFGoodrich Tires Cup. Leitzinger, making his seventh career
Trans-Am Series start from the pole, led Gentilozzi, making
his series record 179th, by a seemingly comfortable 2.232
seconds following the 50th of 61 laps on the temporary road
circuit at RFK Stadium. Over the next six laps, however,
Gentilozzi managed to whittle his deficit to just 0.695
seconds. He got even closer by the end of Lap 58, pulling
within 0.685 seconds of Leitzinger’s lead. But at the outset
of Lap 59, Gentilozzi made a daring run into the first turn of
the 1.66-mile course, put all four wheels off track, and was
unable to execute the pass. He got no closer thereafter.
Leitzinger (#88 Tommy Bahama/Tom Gloy Chevrolet Corvette) went
on to a 1.023-second victory over Gentilozzi, the three-time
and defending Trans-Am Series champion, in front of a national
television audience (CBS Sports). It was the second Trans-Am
triumph of Leitzinger’s career and his fourth consecutive
podium finish, dating to a third-place performance at Lime
Rock in late May. Though he remained third in the chase for
the BFGoodrich Tires Cup, Leitzinger became a major factor in
the championship hunt by virtue of the victory.

Alonso replaces Button
The Renault F1 team announced this afternoon that Fernando
Alonso will partner Jarno Trulli in the team next year. This
means that Jenson Button is out of a drive next year despite
the fact that he has scored more than twice as many points as
the Italian driver, who is managed by Renault F1 boss Flavio
Briatore. Alonso is also managed by Briatore. Button, who is
not managed by Briatore, will now have to look elsewhere for a
drive.

7/20/02

Arrows grounded The
OrangeArrows team did not qualify for the 2002 French Grand
Prix. The team will now pack up and head back to England.
Negotiations concerning the team’s future will continue next
week along with preparations for the German Grand Prix. Tom
Walkinshaw - “Unfortunately we were unable to qualify either
car today. Our priority has to be to get this team back on its
feet and in a position where we can build a positive future.
It’s sad but we’ll go home and prepare for Hockenheim.”

7/20/02

Chevron to renew with Yates
According to this Winston Salem Journal
article, Chevron executives have decided to pick up
the option on the final two years of the Texaco sponsorship
with Yates, something Yates said he didn't expect. So Yates
has to deal with that situation, too. And it appears Yates is
trying to 'shop' that Texaco sponsorship to the Andy
Petree-Jerry Jones team. Petree and Jones have been trying to
hire Rudd, who also is looking at offers from Dale Earnhardt
Inc. and Chip Ganassi, sources say. Yates also would like to
sell Petree an engine leasing package; Petree will be making a
difficult switch from Chevy to Ford. So what happens to
Texaco and its NASCAR sponsorship next year? "Texaco is being
dissolved," Yates said. "I wake up and remember the Texaco
star and what they've done for me and my family and the race
team. But they're being shuffled out and done away with. That
says things aren't necessarily forever."

7/20/02

Schumacher fastest, Fisichella
crashes Michael Schumacher topped the leaderboard in
the fourth and final free practice session at Magny-Cours. The
German completed 19 laps and finished with a very fast
1:12.974. But while he showed top form, so did McLaren with
Kimi Raikkonen putting in a stunning 1:12.995, which was just
two hundredths slower. Earlier in the session Giancarlo
Fisichella crashed after losing a wing and then control of his
car at the Estoril section, causing the session to be stopped
for 25 minutes while the tire barrier that the car hit was
repaired. The Italian was able to walk away but taken to the
on-site medical facility as a precaution and it is unclear
whether he will be able to qualify.

Cameron's go karting
Lynx Racing team manager Steve Cameron and Dane Cameron, the
13 year-old son of Lynx Technical Director Rick Cameron, will
be competing this weekend in the 'Stars of Tomorrow' kart race
at the new karting facility at Sears Point Raceway. Steve
Cameron will compete in the Parilla 125 class, while Dane
Cameron will race in the 80cc Junior Shifter class. Both will
be driving ItalKart chassis. The family of current Lynx driver
Michael Valiante - who is leading the CART Toyota Atlantic
championship points battle - owns Italkart, and Cameron
Motorsports Management is the local dealer for both Italkart
and Parilla. "As the local distributor for both Italkart and
Parilla, my participation in this race is to gather data and
help insure that the products we sell our customers are
competitive at the highest level," says Steve Cameron. "And
besides, I've always been a racer to the core, and sometimes
you've just got to get off the phone and out from behind the
desk and back behind the wheel." Dane Cameron's racing skills
have benefited considerably from his new driving coach -
international karting champion Michael Valiante. "Michael and
I have been working together a lot lately, and he's a really
good teacher," says Dane. "We do 'lead-and-follow' at the
track, and he's helping me understand both how to drive and
how to get my kart set up properly. Even at this level, the
competition is really strong, and I'm already a much better
driver because of what he's taught me."

7/20/02

Senske to spot for Priestley
While much of the attention at this weekend's Firestone Indy
200 IRL race at the Nashville Superspeedway will be directed
to the IRL's most popular driver Sara Fisher, there's another
rising young female open-wheel racer also in attendance, and
she'll spend the weekend whispering in the ear of a Hollywood
star. Sara Senske, a graduate of the same Lynx Racing driver
development program that produced Alex Barron (the
highest-finishing rookie at this year's Indy 500), will act as
the spotter for Kelly Racing driver Jason Priestley in the
Infiniti Pro Series race. This is the second event in the new
series' 7-race 2002 season. It's a role she is familiar with,
having been the spotter for fellow female racer Lyn St. James
in the 2000 Indy 500. And her own experience as a driver,
including a podium finish in the Barber Dodge Pro Series race
on the Chicago Motor Speedway oval in 2001, makes her the
ideal choice to guide Priestley through race traffic during
the 77- lap event scheduled to take the green flag at 3:30 pm
(CDT) Saturday, July 20. "Naturally I'd rather be behind the
wheel than on the radio, but Jason is a terrific driver, Kelly
Racing is a top team and I'm happy to contribute to their
success in any way I can," says Senske, who turned 24 on
Wednesday. "It's all part of paying your dues and learning as
much as possible about every aspect of racing. I'm working
very hard to put together a deal for a full-season ride in the
Infiniti Pro Series next year, and this weekend's spotting job
is all part of trying to get things up to speed so I can hit
the ground running when it all comes together." In addition to
her spotting chores for Kelly Racing and Priestly this
weekend, Senske, who hails from Kennewick, Washington and
currently resides in Santa Rosa, California, also keeps busy
as a driver for the CART Pace Car Team. She is also in talks
with a CART team to do a one-off appearance in the planned
Barber Dodge Pro Series race at the season-ending race in
Mexico City. Earlier this year she tested impressively with a
Dodge team in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and she
continues her studies as a psychology major at Sonoma State
University.

7/19/02

Leitzinger wins pole for DC
race
Rookie Butch Leitzinger continued an impressive run of
qualifying in the 2002 Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich
Tires Cup Friday when he captured the pole position for
Saturday's inaugural Capital Trans-Am 100 at RFK Stadium (2:30
p.m. ET, live, CBS). Leitzinger (#88 Tommy Bahama/Tom Gloy
Chevrolet Corvette) toured the 1.66-mile, seven-turn temporary
circuit in the stadium parking lot with a fast lap of 83.026
miles per hour (1 minute, 12.735 seconds), giving him the
right to lead 23 fellow competitors to the green flag for
Saturday's sixth of 12 rounds in the championship. The pole
was Leitzinger's series-high fourth of the season and his
third in the row, following earlier pole-winning efforts at
Mosport, Mid-Ohio and Cleveland. In addition to his fourth
Jaguar Pole Award of the season, Leitzinger also collected two
championship points, allowing him to break a tie with Johnny
Miller (#64 Automation Direct/Eaton Cutler-Hammer Jaguar XKR)
and move into sole possession of third place in the
championship, with 119 points. Boris Said leads the series
with 153 points, followed by three-time and defending Trans-Am
series champion Paul Gentilozzi, with 125.

7/19/02

NASCAR hands down more fines to
cheaters
NASCAR officials announced penalties against five NASCAR
Winston Cup Series crew chiefs following this past weekend's
Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. Tony
Eury, Sr., crew chief of the No. 8 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, was
fined $2,500 and penalized under section 12-4-Q in the 2002
NASCAR Winston Cup Series rule book, "Any determination by
NASCAR Officials that parts and/or equipment used in the Event
do not conform to NASCAR rules: unapproved use of refrigerant
near the fuel system." Greg Zipadelli, crew chief of the No.
20 Pontiac Grand Prix and Steven Lane, crew chief of the No.
45 Dodge Intrepid, were both fined $500 and penalized under
section 12-4-Q and Section 20-12-1A: unapproved jacking bolts.
Lane also received a fine of $2,500 for having unapproved
fender braces (adjustable), section 20.3.6.F. Brandon Thomas,
crew chief of the No. 43 Dodge Intrepid and Greg Steadman,
crew chief of the No. 44 Dodge Intrepid, received fines of
$2,500 each and penalized under section 12-4-Q and section
20-16-4.1: unapproved fuel filler neck that exceeded the
maximum size.

7/19/02

Speaking
of accurate crowd counts We pointed out on Sunday
that the announced attendance at CART's Cleveland race was
suspect. Today, other articles appeared, claiming
inflated CART numbers. Well the IRL should not talk.
Their numbers are always inflated significantly too.
Take for instance Kansas, a race the IRL recently announced as
sold out. However, as the photo at the right shows
(taken in the center section, the most densely populated area
during the race by Ron McQueeney) there were thousands of fans
who did not show up for the race. Imagine that!
They had a ticket in hand, yet decided to stay home.
It's one thing to not show up because you didn't buy a ticket
in the first place, and quite another to have purchased a
ticket and throw it in the trash. It's likely these were
fans forced to buy an IRL ticket because that is the only way
they could buy a Winston Cup ticket, i.e. as a package deal.
The IRL is piggybacking on NASCAR's popularity to artificially
get inflated attendance numbers. Both CART and the IRL
should be ashamed for reporting inaccurate attendance figures.
'Attendance' means those present, and should not include those
that didn't show up because they never intended too.

7/19/02

Barber Dodge Pro Series race on
SPEED The Barber Dodge Pro Series race from Laguna
Seca will air on Speed Channel on Saturday at 3 P.M. Eastern
time. The 2002 season marks the first year of Barber Dodge Pro
Series coverage on Speed Channel, and features a one-hour
format, allowing for additional interviews and in-depth
coverage of the most competitive development series in the
United States. Leigh Duffy and Jeremy Shaw will call the
action from the 2.238-mile circuit that features the
picturesque and challenging Corkscrew downhill turn.

7/19/02

Yet another oval wall victim
hospitalized, Johncox on pole For the 2nd race in a row, in a
series that is just one race old, another IRL Infiniti Pro
Series driver has been hospitalized. Gary Peterson was
transported to University Medical Center in Lebanon, Tenn.,
after suffering a concussion during a qualifying crash in his
No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers, Inc. entry. Peterson also
will undergo precautionary X-rays after complaining of back
pain. Let's hope yet another victim hasn't broken their
back, though we're happy to report this one does not sound too
bad. Ronnie Johncox won the pole July 19 for the Indy Racing
Infiniti Pro Series race at Nashville Superspeedway, the
second event in the new Indy Racing League development series.
Johncox, from Jackson, Mich., turned a top lap of 27.8070
seconds, 168.303 mph in the No. 8 Rev. 1 Racing Special
Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone. He also led the second practice
today on the 1.3-mile concrete oval. “We went back after the
second practice session and tried to make some changes to try
to make the car a little more drivable,” Johncox said. “I was
really having to hustle the car an awful lot in that last
practice session. We wanted to make the car a little more
drivable with some small changes. We didn’t do anything
drastic. It definitely worked for us.” Arie Luyendyk Jr., son
of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk, will share
the front row with Johncox after a top lap of 27.9341, 167.537
in the No. 5 Luyendyk Racing entry. Easily on the pole
the first race by a wide margin last race (rumors are that the
car had an extra air intake), AJ Foyt IV was a whopping 13 mph
slower than pole this week. He crashed in the practice
session and spun during qualifying.

7/19/02Industry News

You know Shanghai's the place
to race - Disney to build there
Disney has taken a step towards building a theme park in
Shanghai by signing a framework agreement with the city
government within the past month, sources close to the deal
said yesterday. The deal included plans for a joint venture
with a group of local companies, including property developer
Lujiazui, to help build and operate the park, they said. If
the deal goes through, the Shanghai park would be Disney's
third in Asia and could pose a competitive threat to Hong
Kong's project with the US entertainment giant, which is due
to open in 2005 or 2006. Tokyo currently has the only Disney
park operating in Asia. A spokesman for the government of
Shanghai's financial district of Pudong - proposed site of the
park - declined to comment, as did a spokeswoman for Shanghai
Lujiazui Development Group. Shanghai officials have made no
secret of their desire for a Disney park to help boost
tourism. Shanghai proposed Pudong, the city's premier
development zone, as the site for the park, given the amount
of land required (Note the Pudong District of Shanghai is
where AR1 has suggested CART, per this article).
Government and industry sources both confirmed the recent
signing of the framework deal between Pudong government
officials and Disney executives. A Shanghai delegation met
Disney executives in the United States late last year to
explain Pudong's preferential policies and express willingness
to provide the land, they said.

7/19/02

Chip off the old block
Mark Martin, who drives the No. 6 Viagraâ Ford Taurus, is not
the only Martin to have notched a victory this season at Lowes
Motor Speedway. Last Tuesday night Martin's son Matt recorded
his first win of the season at Lowes Motor Speedway hanging on
to win the race in the 8-11 year-old bandolero division of the
Summer Shootout in Concord. "This is one of the two biggest
wins of my life," said Mark after the race. "The other came
earlier this year at this same track. It's very rewarding to
watch your son do well, and Matt's a really talented racer. I
don't know which I would say means the most, but this one is
up there. My win here in May was really special, because Matt
and Arlene were both there to share that with me and this is
another win that we can all share in together." A chip off the
old block, Matt Martin started the feature race second and
took the lead on lap nine of the race, going on to outrun the
rest of the 21-car field and take his first victory of the
season. The win came after Martin had narrowly won the heat
race earlier in the evening, edging out second place by less
than a car length. "It feels really good to get the victory,"
said the 10-year old Martin after the race. "It makes it
really special to win at the same track that I was able to
watch my dad win at this year. I just hope we can get a couple
more this year." Mark Martin's crew chief Ben Leslie was also
at the race, cheering on Matt. In a year that has been nothing
less than magical for the No. 6 team, the win just adds to the
excitement.

7/19/02

Busch driver Kirby killed
Busch Series driver Andy Kirby was killed when the motorcycle
he was driving ran off a road and hit a tree, police said
Friday. Kirby, 40, lost control of his motorcycle on a curve
at about 11:30 p.m. Thursday, according to a report filed by
Trooper Joseph Agee of the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Kirby was
wearing a helmet but driving at a high speed, Department of
Safety spokesman Beth Tucker Womack said Friday. The cycle
slid about 53 meters before leaving the road, then another 12
meters into the tree. No drug or alcohol involvement was
suspected, and weather didn't seem to be a factor, she said.
There were no witnesses to the crash.

7/19/02

Davidson flies in CART test
According to this Autosport.com
article, British American Racing test driver Anthony
Davidson deeply impressed Team Green in his maiden Champ Car
test on Wednesday and Thursday, lapping the daunting Elkhart
Lake road course within nine tenths of a second of runaway
CART championship leader Cristiano da Matta. Davidson
completed nearly 200 miles in one of Green's Lola-Hondas,
clocking a best lap of 1m43.9s around Road America's
4.048-mile layout. The test allowed Team Green to collect data
for the upcoming Champ Car race at the track scheduled for
August 18 without using an official test day, and it also
allowed Davidson to get some miles in a Champ Car. "Anthony is
a really smart driver," remarked Team Green general manager
Kyle Moyer. "He has a great feel for the race car and he
adapted well to a new machine. I'm sure he could have run
quicker but we made a major change late in the day that wasn't
to his liking and we weren't able to go back on it. I think he
learned a lot during the test." "This is something we have
been working on for a long time," added team owner Barry
Green. "When the opportunity arose to give Anthony a chance to
drive a CART Champ Car everyone worked hard to make it happen.
Team KOOL Green has had a long relationship with the BAR Honda
Formula 1 team, through our association with Brown &
Williamson Tobacco, a member of the British American Tobacco
group."

Unser featured in National
Enquirer Is racing finally becoming
mainstream in the USA? Al Unser Jr. made the National Enquirer
for the week of July 30th 2002. On page 54 they have a story
on Al's arrest and his troubles with drugs and drinking.
Unfortunately, none of us want racing to become mainstream in
this manner.

7/19/02

Renna to drive for Unser Tony Renna, Kelley Racing
test driver and driving coach for Jason Priestley, was named
this week to drive the Kelley Racing #7 Corteco/Bryant Indy
Racing League car in the Firestone Indy 200 this weekend at
Nashville Superspeedway. Renna’s racing bio follows his
quotes: “Obviously, this is the opportunity of a
lifetime for me and I am first very fortunate to have been
brought into the Kelley Racing family this season to test for
them as well as coach Jason Priestley. I, like every team
member at Kelley Racing, certainly wish the circumstances were
different, but a strong team puts adversity behind them and
rises to the challenge. We are determined to continue the
strong performance of the Corteco/Bryant car. “Having passed
my IRL Rookie Test at Texas, I am comfortable with getting in
the car and racing this weekend. I want to have a good finish
for Kelley Racing and Corteco/Bryant. I know I have an
excellent crew who is the best on pit road. My crew chief,
John Worth and my engineer, Mike Colliver, will do everything
they can to get me comfortable in the car as quickly as
possible which will translate to us getting up to speed.”

7/19/02

Patrick Racing testing update
Visteon/Patrick Racing conducted tests at the Mid-Ohio Sports
Car Course in Lexington, Ohio on Monday, July 15 and Road
America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Wednesday, July 17 in
preparation for the upcoming CART Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio,
August 9-11 and the Grand Prix of Road America featuring the
Motorola 220, August 16-18. Driver Townsend Bell, behind the
wheel of the #20 Visteon/Patrick Racing entry with Toyota
power and Bridgestone tires, ran 82 laps (185 miles) at
Mid-Ohio with a fast time of 67.8. Two days later he turned
another 56 laps (227 miles) with a quick time of 43.9 at Road
America. Both the team and the driver pronounced the tests
very productive with Bell saying, “The Visteon/Patrick Racing
Team had a good two days of testing at Mid-Ohio and Road
America. We worked with different aerodynamic packages as well
as on some mechanic things that will help us in the upcoming
races. There is nothing better than jumping back in the car
right away after having a disappointing race like we did in
Cleveland. The Visteon/Patrick Racing Team had two very solid
tests this week, probably the best we have had all year, and I
think it was good for both the crew and myself.”

7/19/02

Surfers ticket sales through
the roof The
100-day countdown to this year's Honda Indy 300 has been
highlighted by the announcement that ticket sales for this
October's CART FedEx Championship Series race in Gold Coast,
Queensland, Australia are up an amazing 55 percent over the
same period last year. Event Chief Executive Officer Geoff
Jones made the announcement in a special media conference and
urged fans wanting to secure their favorite viewing locations
to get in fast. These figures are supported by a massive
increase in corporate involvement with just handful of
corporate packages still available for the Honda Indy 300
October 24-27, Round 18 of the CART FedEx Championship Series.
"I am thrilled to announce that ticket sales for this year's
event are up an incredible 55 percent on the same period last
year," said Jones. "Fans are continually telling us how great
this event is and the proof is in the ticket numbers. The
Honda Indy 300 has developed into one of the best races on the
FedEx Championship calendar and one of the great motorsport
events in the world today. We are certainly not resting on our
laurels and will be working day and night to ensure this event
lives up to the expectations of the fans." The dramatic
increase in advance sales indicates that last year's record
four-day crowd of 286,000 is likely to be smashed and that the
magical 300,000 figure could be reached. "The Honda Indy 300
has grown significantly since 1991 when 150,000 fans
attended," said Jones. "Now we are on target for double the
inaugural attendance." In addition to the on-track activity,
several off-track events are planned such as Miss Indy,
fashion parades, festivals, art exhibitions, a family day, V8
driver's barbecue on the beach, cocktail parties, the Conrad
Jupiters Champ Car Drivers Breakfast and the Honda Indy 300
Ball at the Marriott Hotel.

7/19/02

Arrows sits out, Rubens fastest
in first practice in France
While the financially strapped Arrows team sat out the
session, Rubens Barrichello topped the timesheets in the first
free practice session today, the Ferrari driver setting a
1:15.056 in what was a reasonably static session as teams
found their feet for the rest of the weekend. In dry and sunny
conditions he finished just four hundredths quicker than
McLaren man David Coulthard. Juan-Pablo Montoya and Ralf
Schumacher, who are expected to take the fight to Ferrari this
weekend on their Michelins, were fourth and fifth fastest,
ahead of Coulthard’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen.

Ticket sales for DC This Washington Post
article says this weekend's Cadillac Grand Prix of
Washington is on its way to meeting the promoter's
expectations of selling 70,000 tickets for the three-day
event, according to two race officials with knowledge of
ticket sales. The officials, who declined to be identified,
said that as of Wednesday night, more than 11,000 tickets had
been sold for today's practice sessions. That compares
favorably to practice crowds for Indy Racing League and
Championship Auto Racing Teams races. For Saturday's
qualifying session, approximately 18,000 tickets have been
sold and more than 23,000 have been sold for Sunday's American
LeMans Series race, the officials said.

7/19/02

IRL smart enough to realize
The IRL has convinced Arie
Luyendyk to return to the cockpit for the Michigan 400, a
high-speed, high attrition track. This move helps get
the car count up. CART on the other hand, is setting
themselves up for a major egg-on-the-face event at Fontana
later this year. With only 18 cars starting, this
VERY high attrition race could see no cars making it to
the end of the 500 miler. Now won't that get CART some
good headlines? Teams should be running their backup
cars in that race to get the car count up....and to give some
other drivers a chance to show their stuff. As this
article points out, all news about CART appears to be
negative these days, and many times it's not their fault.
However, if no cars finish at Fontana, CART will have no one
to blame but themselves for not heading off the problem before
it happens. Should it happen, the final nail in their
coffin will have been driven.

Hendrick and BH form alliance
Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) has formed a strategic alliance
with BH Motorsports (formerly Mansion Motorsports) in an
effort to assist the company in establishing a competitive
African-American-owned NASCAR Winston Cup Series team, HMS
general manager Jeff Turner announced today. "Not only is this
a step in the right direction for Hendrick Motorsports and BH
Motorsports, it's a great move forward for the sport of stock
car racing," said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick
Motorsports. "We're committed to bringing more diversity to
the NASCAR community and there's no better place to start than
Winston Cup." BH Motorsports is led by CEO Tinsley Hughes and
COO Sam Belnavis, who have a combined 35 years of motor sports
experience.

7/19/02Industry News

China
building 500,000 seat trackUPDATE This 500,000 seat
stadium near Beijing is nice. However, consider this - in the
latest edition of NSSN, Chris Economacki writes - Washington
based international businessman Tom Duval (who once headed the
SCCA) visited Shanghai many times, most recently last
December. He says of Shanghai: "I went through the new air
terminal at Pudong which puts anything in the USA to shame.
The people of Shanghai consider themselves European and to
have a top world sports event is exactly what they are looking
for. Duval reminds us that Shanghai has an abundance of hotels
and other tourist facilities, and is fast becoming the
financial center of the Pacific Rim, and has the funds not
only to pay for a proper facility, but to fund an event." From
AR1's perspective - Shanghai is where the wealth of China now
is, and the people in that region of China are the most likely
ones to be able to afford race tickets. The people in the
Beijing area are much poorer, and yes, the governments in
China outside of Shanghai are buried in red tape and all have
their hands out. Hence why we have stressed that CART race in
Shanghai, and NOT anywhere else in that country. Why do you
think Bernie Ecclestone is bringing F1 to the Shanghai region? 7/18/02
- Those sponsors who scoff at the notion that CART should be
racing in China, take note. How big would a race in
China be? Consider this - China has announced plans to
build a new motor sports circuit in the shadow of the Great
Wall of China. The new track in Yanqing, about 40 kilometers
(24 miles) from Beijing, will be called the Great Wall Circuit
and will be used for the country's debut MotoGP Grand Prix in
2004 (as well as other motorsports events). The historic
MotoGP deal was reached following negotiations between Carmelo
Ezpeleta, the chief executive of marketing company Dorna
Sports which manages the MotoGP series, and Li Chang Shuan,
the governor of the Yanquing province. The deal also
includes the provision of the live broadcast rights to the
MotoGP races to China's public broadcaster Central China TV (CCTV),
beginning with the Czech Republic Grand Prix this August. Said
Ezpeleta: "This is an historic day for motorcycling and I
would even go as far as to say for the world of sport."
The circuit will host around a dozen major events every year ,
however, and will receive live broadcasts of the opening and
closing ceremonies at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The
track will be designed to hold an astonishing 500,000
spectators (Yes, you read that correctly) - making it the
highest-capacity sports venue in the world. In recent years,
China has begun bidding for major motorsports events. Earlier
this month, Shanghai became the latest city to announce that
it was building a Grand Prix-standard track in the hope of
attracting F1 to the world's most populous nation.
Conceivably CART could race at this circuit and attract a
crowd of 500,000, but some sponsors don't think CART belongs
in China (i.e. an extreme example of the tail wagging the
dog). To their credit, CART is working to get its mix of
sponsors in line with its international goals.
BBC

7/18/02

IRL gets new Chaplain Bob Hills has assumed the
role of chaplain for the IRL Ministries, replacing Mark
Wingler, who resigned earlier this summer. Wingler, who was
the IRL chaplain since the league’s inception in 1996, is now
the vice president of operations for Adventure R.V. Hills, a
native of Meadville, Pa., had been the assistant chaplain for
IRL Ministries since last year. His first event as chaplain
was the Ameristar Casino Indy 200 on July 7 at Kansas
Speedway. “It is a tremendous opportunity,” Hills said. “I
appreciate having the privilege to serve the IRL in this
capacity. I followed open-wheel racing for well over 10 years.
When you have the love of racing and the love of Christ, it
makes for a great combination. “This is an opportunity to
share the good news of Christ with those within the Indy
Racing League as well as an opportunity to share Christ with
fans and those outside the league.” An ordained minister,
Hills has 20 years experience in counseling in private
practices. Prior to that, he served as a minister in various
capacities, including a youth minister. He has a bachelor of
arts degree in Christian ministries and a master of arts
degree in counseling from Cincinnati Bible Seminary. He also
has a master of science degree in clinical psychology from Cal
State University. Hills lives in Indianapolis with his wife,
Joy. They have six children.

7/18/02

Dan Davis says Ford Board to
decide This weeks issue of National Speed Sport News
reports that Ford motorsports boss Dan Davis attended the CART
race in Cleveland and revealed that Ford is considering
corporate support of the Cosworth CART engine program for the
next two years. The engine may be badged as a Ford, or
up to four of Ford's worldwide marques (Ford, Volvo, Jaguar,
Lincoln/Mercury, etc.). "we're evaluating it," Davis
told NSSN. "It's got a lot of plusses. I
personally think it would be very good, but we'll have to see
what our board of directors decides. It should be a cost
effective formula and should make for a heck of a racing
series."

7/18/02

Herta sues CART, but wait!2nd UPDATE Bryan
Herta stated on RPM2Night that he and CART are working out
their differences and that they hope to make a joint
announcement together that the Star of Tomorrow karting
program will become a first step on the CART development
ladder. 7/12/02 - AutoRacing1.com has obtained a copy of the entire legal
filing. To make a long story short, CART, under Joe
Heitzler, entered into an agreement with Herta, et al for a
$3,000,000 contract which would pay the Stars of Tomorrow
$500K in 2002, $550K in 2003, $600K in 2004, $650K in 2005 and
$700K in 2006 in return for the go-karting series services to
be rendered. CART even put out a
press release
in October of 2001 at Laguna Seca announcing CART was forming
a partnership with Stars and NAKA and it would support the
go-kart series and be CART sanctioned. The series was to be
the first rung on CART's Ladder System. After Pook took
office, CART cancelled the contract saying Joe Heitzler did
not have the authority to sign the contract. Therein
lies the beef, and the crux of the lawsuit. Herta and
company felt they had a contract and held up their end of the
deal, put that CART reneged. The lawsuit is against CART and
Chris Pook. 7/11/02 - Former CART driver Bryan Herta and the Stars of Tomorrow
program have sued CART for reneging on their agreement to
support of the Stars of Tomorrow program g-kart program.
Stay tuned for more info.....

7/18/02

Final CART Cleveland TV Rating
holds
Typically one of the most-viewed races on the CART FedEx
Championship Series schedule, last weekend's Marconi Grand
Prix of Cleveland Presented by U.S. Bank saw its final Nielsen
television ratings hold up against the overnight projections
with a national rating of 1.1. Nielsen Media Research
estimated that 1,186,000 households were tuned in to see
Patrick Carpentier (#32 Player's/Indeck
Ford-Cosworth/Reynard/Bridgestone) get his first win of the
season, and also that the ratings climbed as high as 1.3
during the midway point of the event - a number that
represents over 1.4 million households. The race on CBS Sports
garnered the third-highest final rating of the 2002 season.
The next event on the calendar will be the July 26-28 Molson
Indy Vancouver, through the streets of Concord Pacific Place
in Vancouver.

7/18/02

Tony George comments on Unser A statement from Tony
George, Indy Racing League president and chief executive
officer, about Al Unser Jr., who announced July 18 that he is
entering a substance-abuse center immediately for treatment: I
was very disappointed to learn of the events involving Al
Unser Jr. last week. Today’s announcement by Al Unser Jr. is
the right thing for him to do, and I fully support it. All of
us who are friends and fans of Al are pleased with his
decision and look forward to his return to the Indy Racing
League. He has the full support of his team, his sponsor and
of the Indy Racing League. The League is satisfied with the
steps that Al is taking and does not contemplate any action.

Villeneuve say he'll stay at
BAR for 2003
At a press conference at Magny-Cours today, Villeneuve stated
- "I'm staying next year," Villeneuve said when asked about
his future plans, although he did add a qualifier to that a
bit later on: "I don't see any reason for me not being back
with BAR next year," the French-Canadian added. "It would take
something really, really extreme, so I feel at the moment I am
definitely with the team next year."

7/18/02

CART Town Meeting planned
Establishing a forum that will allow fans of Champ Car racing
to discuss their sport with some of the most influential and
established personalities in open-wheel racing, Championship
Auto Racing Teams, Inc. (CART) announced today that it will
host a "CART Town Meeting" in Columbus, Ohio at PromoWest
Pavilion on Thursday, Aug. 1. Held in advance of the CART
Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Aug. 9 -
11, the event is officially titled a "CART Town Meeting: A
Forum on the FedEx Championship Series in Ohio and Beyond."
The featured panel will include CART President and CEO
Christopher R. Pook, Champ Car legend Mario Andretti, CART
FedEx Championship Series team owner, former driver and Ohioan
Bobby Rahal and CART Steward and former Mid-Ohio chief driving
instructor Chris Kneifel. Former driver and current CBS and
SPEED Channel television analyst Derek Daly will serve as the
evening's emcee. Additional forum participants will be
announced in the coming days. The CART Town Meeting is free
and open to all CART fans who register in advance. The
evening's highlight will feature a question and answer session
moderated by Daly from 7 - 8:30 p.m., with all attendees
welcome to ask questions. The question and answer program will
be followed by a brief reception where guests will have the
opportunity to meet and socialize with the evening's
panelists. Those in attendance at the Town Meeting will also
have the opportunity to purchase tickets on site for the CART
Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio at an advanced, sale price. In
addition, fans will be eligible to win one of nine spots in
the CART FANatics promotion, which gives fans a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be immersed in the pre-race
activities as Champ Car teams prepare for battle on race day
at Mid-Ohio. Attendees can also register to become one of four
chosen to present an award on the victory podium at the CART
Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio post-race ceremony, win a pace car ride
around Mid-Ohio's 2.258-mile permanent road course or take
home a checkered flag signed by every Champ Car driver.

7/18/02

NASCAR and now F1 on Satellite
radio US radio network
Sirius Satellite Radio has signed a deal to cover the Formula
One races for the remainder of the season. The deal
between governing body the FIA and Sirius will see race
coverage broadcast on the network's 'Real Sirius' station
found on channel 117. The agreement includes the popular US
Grand Prix, held at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on 29
September. Said Jay Clark, Vice President of Entertainment
Programming at Sirius Satellite Radio: "The recent addition of
the US Grand Prix has bolstered enthusiasm for Formula One in
the US. Now coast-to-coast, anywhere in the US, you'll be able
to hear live race coverage from the largest and most
prestigious auto series in the world." NASCAR is already
on satellite radio, and we expect the IRL will make a similar
announcement sometime soon. CART cancelled the CART Radio Network last
year. They could, however, broadcast the TV audio over
satellite radio.

7/18/02

Is there any good CART news?
According to this Indy Star
article, Unless you're an eternal optimist, the
cancellation of the German 500, which was slated for Sept. 21,
makes it look as if it is just a matter of time before CART
goes under. The sad and crazy part about the whole thing is
this: It's hard to blame CART. Series officials really did not
have an option. Actually, CART did the right thing. How can
you blame CART for refusing to finance the entire event on its
own, including paying to have equipment flown to Germany?
Doing so would be a poor business decision for any racing
league.....How many times in just over a year can a series
have races canceled and maintain a positive image? Well,
definitely not the three times it's happened with CART. So
when the German 500 was canceled, it made things appear even
worse. This has nothing to do with reality. And it definitely
has nothing to do with the fact that this most recent
cancellation had absolutely nothing to do with any kind of
problems on CART's part. No, this is all about perception. And
a major part of the perception is that negative things always
seem to happen to CART these days. It's one heck of a way to
have to run a racing league......Somewhere, you just have to
believe IRL president Tony George is cheering.

7/18/02

Unser might learn today According to this Indy Star
article, Al Unser Jr. might learn today where or not
the Indy prosecutor will press charges against Unser.
Knowing the huge influence the George family has in Indy, do
you really expect this case to go any further?

7/18/02

Work on Silverstone continues
According to reports from England, the existing pit and media
facilities at Silverstone International have been torn down.
As the next, $40 million phase of construction begins at the
home of British motor racing, new double-tiered pit garages,
paddock area will feature for the 2003 F1 event.

Roush sets 2003 driver lineup
With the recent announcement that Greg Biffle and his sponsor
Grainger will be moving up to the Winston Cup Series ranks in
2003, Roush Racing's roster for the series is set for next
season. With probably one of the most powerful driver lineups
in NASCAR Winston Cup history, Roush Racing will field five
cars with Mark Martin, No. 6 VIAGRA? Ford Taurus; Greg Biffle,
No. 16 GRAINGER Ford Taurus; Matt Kenseth No. 17 DEWALT Ford
Taurus; Kurt Busch No. 97 RUBBERMAID Ford Taurus and Jeff
Burton, No. 99 CITGO Ford Taurus. "I'm very proud of the team
that we have assembled over the course of the last few years,"
said team owner Jack Roush. "We've got a very balanced mix
with veterans Mark and Jeff, and the young talent of Matt,
Kurt and Greg. Our teams are working well together and this is
definitely one of the best seasons Roush Racing has
experienced, especially as a multi-car team. I believe the
addition of Greg and his crew chief Randy Goss will only add
to the equation, and not only will they feed off of our other
teams, but they will have many fresh ideas to offer the group.
I'm excited about our Winston Cup lineup for next season and
the prospect of one or more of the teams running for a
championship in 2003."

7/17/02Industry News

American
Joel Nelson Storms To Victory At Snetterton 2001 Jim
Russell Graduate Runoffs winner Joel Nelson is doing a
fantastic job this season in the Formula Palmer Audi series in
the U.K. As you will notice, he is once again in the lead of
the series and continues to amass a formidable string of
finishes in three different series on two continents. He
currently leads the USAC Formula Russell Championship in his
rookie season. 20 year-old Joel Nelson regained the
points lead in the Formula Palmer Audi Championship after
leading every lap to win round eight at Snetterton circuit in
England. "What a fantastic result. This was one of my most
difficult victories. Every lap was like a qualifying lap. I
pushed as hard as I could for the entire race. It is good to
see Audi Sport North America back at the top of the
championship." After a blistering start from pole position,
Nelson opened up a four second lead over second place by the
middle of the race. He maintained the gap until two laps from
the end when the left rear tire of his car suffered a
puncture. "At the time I wasn't sure what the problem was. I
thought maybe a damper had failed or the left rear toe link
had moved. I was struggling to keep the car on the track. It
was a good thing I had a decent lead over second place because
I lost over three seconds on the last lap". Nelson finished a
close second in the opening race of the day after qualifying
third. On the opening lap Joel fell to fourth before passing
second and third place cars at the same time. "I got a super
draft from the second and third place cars and then braked
mega late into the following corner. It was fantastic from my
perspective, really exciting." Nelson and race leader Adrian
Wilmott pulled away from the field by as much as one second
per lap and finished with a fifteen second lead over third
place. Joel recorded the fastest lap of the race. "I was
marginally quicker, but it would have been very difficult to
pass Adrian. I decided it was best to collect the second place
points as I knew that would restore my championship lead".
Nelson has won half of the Formula Palmer Audi Championship
races this year and is the only driver to have won at every
circuit visited.

Salazar to return this weekend
Veteran Eliseo Salazar,
injured in a testing accident in April, will return to Indy
Racing League competition at the Firestone Indy 200 on July 20
at Nashville Superspeedway after receiving medical clearance
July 17. Salazar, a native of Santiago, Chile, will drive the
No. 11 Harrah’s/Banco Chile Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone owned
by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt. Salazar
suffered a torn vertebral artery in his chest during a testing
accident April 16 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “I feel
great, I am training full time, and I am ready to come back,”
Salazar said. Thoracic surgeon Dr. John Fehrenbacher examined
Salazar on July 17. Based on that examination, Dr. Henry Bock,
Indy Racing League director of medical services, cleared
Salazar to drive. Salazar’s return will result in Greg Ray
moving into Foyt’s No. 41 Harrah’s Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone
at Nashville, combining with Salazar and Airton Daré to form a
three-car IRL team. Foyt also fields an Infiniti Pro Series
car for his grandson, A.J. Foyt IV. “I told Eliseo that there
would be a car for him when he was ready to return,” Foyt
said. Salazar’s recovery occurred quickly. Doctors originally
indicated that Salazar would miss the rest of the season after
the emergency surgery. “I told them that my bones heal much
faster than the normal person,” Salazar said. “My quick
recovery may surprise others, but I expected it. As for
racing, it will take me a couple of races to be back in top
form because there is no exercise regimen that can prepare you
for the rigors of racing at over 200 mph. “Coming back at
Nashville will be tough for me because it is a tough track,
and it is only a two-day show, so I will have to get with the
program pretty fast.” Salazar, 46, started racing nearly 30
years ago, but thoughts of retirement didn’t enter his mind
after the accident in April. “This is my life, it is what I
love to do,” Salazar said. “Besides, I have to come back
because these young guns think they own motor racing.” IRL

7/17/02Industry News

Houston Superspeedway hits
launch pad According this Houston Chronicle
article - Star State Investment Inc. purchased 2,700
acres of land and announced Tuesday its intention of
developing a superspeedway along Texas 288 in Brazoria County.
The company plans a privately funded, $100 million venue, with
construction tentatively beginning in late 2002 or early 2003,
said Tom Floyd, Star State's chairman and chief executive
officer. The last time big-time racing was held in Houston was
an appearance by the CART series in October 2001. Because of
construction downtown, CART racing will not return to Houston
this year. Floyd's track would be able to handle a NASCAR
Winston Cup race, but the Winston Cup schedule is full, and
NASCAR officials have said in the past they will not expand
it. NASCAR officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
More from the Houston Business Journal.

7/17/02

No more CART TV broadcasts in
Germany On the
heels of the cancellation of the CART race in Germany comes
word that ORB, the German TV network that broadcasted all CART
races in Germany, will cease to do so immediately. We
told CART to go with Eurosport (for all of Europe), but nobody
wanted to listen.

7/17/02

Order
your St. Pete race tickets Click on the order form
to the right and print it out if you are interested in
ordering tickets in the best grandstands for the upcoming St.
Petersburg GP in February. They are across from the pits
and not available to the general public. Or go to their
websitefor
other tickets. Note the right-hand kink in the track
just before the first turn - this will eliminate any chance
for passing. The cars will turn right and never have a
chance to straighten out to make a pass! They would have
been better off extending the main straight further, then
making a sharp 120-degree right-hand first turn. This
would have ensured a straight, hard braking zone where the
drivers can actually pass. CART, hello! Are you
listening?

7/17/02

Cleveland newspaper talks about
its race This Cleveland Plain Dealer
article says - The city once used the race as a big
marketing point to attract conventions and other events. The
Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Growth Association
wined and dined people and showed them a vibrant downtown to
get them to come here. You don't see or hear of that happening
much anymore. Race promotions used to have an air of
excitement and anticipation. Tickets would go on sale just
after Christmas. The Roar by the Shore might have been catchy
phrase years ago, but it's now trite and more of a snore. The
push to sell tickets doesn't start until May. Yet fans still
showed up. CART certainly has its share of problems, including
a lot of dead time waiting for qualifying on Saturday, and
mandatory pit stops on race day that eliminate race strategy.
But the event remains one of the most profitable on
Cleveland's sports calendar. If the city, CART and IMG are
close to getting a deal done, fine. But the real deal should
be a re-commitment by all three to find new ways to make it
even better.

7/17/02Industry News

Motorola posts biggest loss
ever Motorola Inc. on Tuesday posted its biggest net
loss in company history, but before its restructuring charge
the world's second-largest mobile telephone maker topped
analysts' expectations. Including a previously disclosed $3.4
billion pretax restructuring charge, or $2.4 billion after
taxes, Motorola's net loss in the second quarter was $2.3
billion, or $1.02 a share, compared with a net loss last year
of $759 million, or 35 cents a share. The restructuring charge
was largely for job cuts and asset write-downs. Motorola
officials repeated that this largely completes the company's
restructuring. Investors seemed to focus on the
earlier-than-expected return to profits before charges as
Motorola's stock rose to $14.62 in after-hours Instinet
trading from its close on the New York Stock Exchange of
$14.53. It closed up 69 cents, or 5 percent, in regular
trading on Tuesday. "They are becoming more efficient," said
Kurt Lauber, an analyst at American Express Financial
Advisors, which owns shares of Motorola. "They're delivering
right now."

7/17/02

More Bud Shaw reactionsUPDATE Yet another
scathing letter - Nice hack job . . . Bud. For a guy who
didn’t even make it to the track last weekend you sure do have
an experts grasp of the realities of modern day motorsports,
yes Sir. When it comes to open–wheel motorsports in North
American, “open-wheel” means no fenders, Bud, CART is the by
far the premier product bar none. By all measures available
CART is superior to the IRL and if you took 5 minutes from
your hectic schedule of slamming what you don’t know anything
about to check out fine web sites like AutoRacing1.Com,
Speedvision.Com, even the IRL/ABC biased ESPN/RPM.Com you
would be better equipped to write about these things as you
would finally know something! Do you really think it’s all
that difficult to turn left all day long in cars designed and
fine-tuned to do only that? Even guys like you, the
“I-haven’t-seen-anything-faster-than-55-in-my-Volvo” set could
go 180 in an IRL or NASCAR stock car! Having the talent to
compete in CART separates the real driving talent from the
burned-out wannabes and no-talent substance abusers that
populate today’s IRL grid. The technology that makes up the
modern Champ Car is of great interest to CART fans. There is
no technology in an IRL or stock car, Bud (is this your real
name or are you sponsored by Anheuser-Bush?). Then there is
all the two-faced, self serving crap your bud (sorry, I
couldn’t resist) Tony George has spewed since the inception of
the IRL. Crap about “Americun” drivers, and “low cost” racing.
Fact is the IRL is dominated by foreign drivers and next year
it will be more expensive to compete in the IRL than in CART.
The Penske/Toyota/Honda invasion will only escalate costs
further sending many founding IRL teams to CART next year.
Unfortunately, the ongoing damage done to the drivers in the
IRL will continue to be the price IRL drivers pay to put on
Tony’s Show. The IRL “series” exists to support one race and
one man’s financial interests. As we learned when King George
handed down his ruling on Paul Tracy’s Indy 500 win, nothing
this man does is in the best interest of the sport. Why don’t
you write about this? What’s makes your drivel all that more
disheartening to me personally, being from Cleveland and
having delivered the Plain Dealer door-to-door for years when
I was a kid, is the unsettling knowledge that The Plain
Dealer, a publication I have great respect for, saw fit to
publish your self-serving and biased crap. Bud, a fine job.
Your VIP seats to the 2003 Indy 500 remain secure. J.N.
Anderson, Chicago, IL7/16/02 - Far too many emails on this guy to print them all.
Here's a sample in reaction to his
article. Dear Reporter/Bud Shaw, Have you even
been to a CART race recently? I can tell you that I have been
to nearly all of the CART and IRL races this year, and your
opinion obviously displays your lack of recent experience
between the series. The only time that I have ever seen an IRL
race draw nearly as much attention, or spectators as any CART
race was the Indy 500, and it still didn't match any CART race
this year. Also, the CART administration is extremely humble
and very grateful for all its fans, unlike IRL/Tony George who
is the arrogant entity in this entire rift. Tony George has
the God complex not because he has the better series with more
desired racing, cause he doesn't have any of that, its because
he has Penske and enough of his own private money to pull the
series along. CART teams don't have to be paid off to sell
their souls as Penske did and others will to IRL. The only
reason I go to IRL races is cause I get free tickets, and
every race I've been to of the IRL the guy to the left of me,
to the right of me, behind me, and in front of me all were
there only because they had free tickets. George may have lots
of money, but it won't last and those rifts will show and CART
will still be alive and kicking. You'd be amazed at how much
real information you receive when you're involved with
starting new teams in both series. You guys look so silly
being the do-boys for George, when it is truly not the truth.
-An Informed Race Fan

Harvick and Schrader to pull
double duty
NASCAR Winston Cup Driver Kevin Harvick will join Ken Schrader
as one of two drivers doing double duty at New Hampshire
International Speedway during the New England 300 weekend.
Harvick will drive his own entry in Saturday's New England 200
featuring the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the No. 29
Richard Childress Racing GM Goodwrench Chevrolet in Sunday's
New England 300 featuring the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. This
will be Kevin's third time racing a truck at "The Magic Mile".
Harvick finished seventh during the Craftsman Truck event in
1998 and fifth in 1999 after having led 5 laps. Kevin's best
finish at NHIS came during a Busch Series race in May 2001.
Harvick finished second to Greg Biffle after leading 165 laps
of the 200 lap event. In his six prior events at the speedway,
Harvick has collected three top ten finishes and one top five
finish. Harvick has led laps in five of his six starts.

7/16/02

NBC Today show live from
Washington DC
NBC’s “The Today Show,” one of the longest-running programs in
television history, will be live at the American Le Mans
Series Cadillac Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., on Friday,
July 19. Willard Scott, popular weather forecaster for the
morning news/talk program, will be at the RFK Stadium racing
circuit that will be the site of Sunday’s inaugural Cadillac
Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. The show will do at least six
live segments from the site on Friday’s broadcast, with some
personalities in the American Le Mans Series to be interviewed
by Scott. The appearance of “The Today Show” at the event
coincides with NBC Sports’ live telecast of the race on
Sunday. The 1 p.m. (EDT) telecast will mark the first
appearance of the American Le Mans Series on NBC Sports in
2002.

7/16/02

Herta on RPM2Night
American Le Mans Series driver Bryan Herta will be a guest on
the popular cable television program “RPM2NIGHT” on the ESPN2
network on Thursday, July 18. Herta, driver of the Panoz Motor
Sports LMP-1 “Spirit of America” machine, will join the show
from the ESPN Zone in Washington, D.C. He will discuss this
weekend’s Cadillac Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., at RFK
Stadium, the first American Le Mans Series event to be held in
the Nation’s Capital. From Valencia, Calif., Herta is in his
first season of sports car racing after competing for the past
eight years in the CART FedEx Championship Series. The
motorsports news program originates at 6:30 p.m. (EDT), with
at least two replays (check local listings).

7/16/02

Goodwood ultimate meeting of
cars and stars
The theme of this year’s event was: “On the Limit—A History of
Heroes.” The Goodwood Festival of Speed, now in its 10th year,
brings together a huge array of racing cars as well as exotic
and historic road cars and motorcycles. All are on display on
the grounds of the Goodwood estate, owned by the Earl of
March, a keen automotive enthusiast who founded the festival.
Fans are allowed to get next to the cars on display. More..

7/16/02

New Winston Cup team
Scott Hillis of Lebanon, Tenn., announced Tuesday that he will
field a NASCAR Winston Cup Series team with plans to be on the
track for the July 28 Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. The
new team, SR Racing, will field No. 79 Dodge Intrepids with
Carl Long behind the wheel. Long, who started the season
hoping to contend in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year
competition, parted company with Mansion Motorsports and team
owner Thee Dixon in July and will race a limited schedule with
SR Racing for the remainder of the season, including a
possible run at The Brickyard on Aug. 4. "We've been testing
at Indy," Hillis said. "If we like what we see during testing,
we'll be there for the race." Bobby Robinson will be the
team's crew chief, with technical assistance from Norman Negre.
The cars will be prepared at Negre Enterprises in Mt.
Pleasant, N.C. Still in search of a primary sponsor, the No.
79 will carry the colors of Jaret's Angels and the Juvenile
Diabetes Research Foundation at Pocono. Jaret's Angels is the
name of a family and friend support group for Jaret Arneson, a
three-year-old Charlotte resident that was diagnosed with Type
1 diabetes in 2002. To find out more about the JDRF, visit the
organization's Web site at www.jdrf.org.

7/16/02Industry News

Big-spenders drive Shanghai
economy We have long maintained that Shanghai is the
place to hold a race because that's where all the big money in
China is moving. Bernie Ecclestone is no dummy, why do
you think F1's likely to be racing in Shanghai and not Zhuhai?
The first half of the year saw Shanghai's economy race ahead
10 per cent, outpacing the 7.8 per cent national growth. The
USA's growth pales in comparison. Yesterday, city officials
said the strong year-on-year rise in first-half gross domestic
product was supported by massive spending on property and
solid consumer demand for cars and other goods. "Faced with
the gradual improvement in the domestic and international
economies, Shanghai's economy showed a steady increase and a
healthy appearance," Shanghai Statistical Bureau director Pan
Jianxin said during a news conference. Last year Shanghai's
GDP rose 10.2 per cent on 2000, official figures showed.

7/16/02

Honda so far not thrilled with IRL &
Cheever On page 19 of the July 11,
2002 edition of Autosport, in an article entitled "Honda
Courts Andretti for IRL", it states the following; "Despite
its standing, Honda has yet to seal an IRL deal with a team.
"It's difficult", said Honda's CART program boss Michihiro
Asaka. "There are not many good teams in the IRL. We are a bit
concerned because we are behind schedule." NOTE; This is
not exactly a "vote of confidence" in the current roster of
IRL teams. Also, in another article (page 19) entitled
"Cheever in talks for a new engine supply" the following was
stated; But Honda Performance development manager Robert
Clarke was less than positive after encountering Cheever's
straight talking approach. "I'm not sure we can do business
with him," he said. (Note; Mr. Asaka does like Thomas
Scheckter, but then again, who doesn't?) Cheever's tough
talk may play well when he's blowing hot air at the IRL'ers,
but he fails to realize that when you're in the big time
corporate arena,
the prototypic IRL tough talk doesn't hold sway. Honda
certainly has their work cut out for them. With Penske's ever
increasing stranglehold over the IRL, with (1) Toyota; (2) MK
(AKA Penske) Chassis; (3) controlling Ilmor, Honda has a tough
road to hoe. Steve Levinson

CART begins Hispanic marketing
initiatives Responding not only to the recent influx
of drivers and teams from Mexico that are having success in
the CART FedEx Championship Series, but also to the businesses
and huge crowds that surround the CART events in Mexico,
Championship Auto Racing Teams announced its Hispanic
Marketing Initiatives over the weekend in Cleveland. More...

7/16/02

German race cancelled
Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc. (NYSE: MPH) has been
informed by the provisional receiver of EuroSpeedway Lausitz
that the FedEx Championship Series race scheduled for Sept. 19
- 21 has been cancelled. Although various efforts have been
undertaken over the course of the last two weeks to ensure
that the event would continue, the organizers are not in a
position to host the CART Champ Car event this year following
EuroSpeedway Lausitz's insolvency filing earlier this month.
Earlier this year, CART and the EuroSpeedway organizers had
entered into a co-promotional, joint-venture agreement for the
operation of the German 500. "Germany is an important market
and we are disappointed the race will not be held, but the
only proposed solution was basically for us to write a large
check on top of the financial commitment we had already made,"
said CART President & CEO Christopher R. Pook. "We will shift
our European focus to other markets." Last week, CART Vice
President of Promoter Operations Tim Mayer met with
EuroSpeedway officials in Germany. Despite positive efforts
from the organizers, the State of Brandenburg and the
receiver, the cancellation proved unavoidable. CART will have
a presence in the European market this season as the
Rockingham 500 at Rockingham Motor Speedway, Sept. 13 - 14, in
England will continue as scheduled and CART is currently
working closely with the event organizers to continue positive
advance ticket and corporate sales. Track officials at the
Northamptonshire oval today announced that they have sold
nearly all of their allotment of corporate hospitality space
and have also sold nearly half of its South Grandstand seats
in the last two weeks.

7/16/02

D-Day for Arrows2nd UPDATE Tom Walkinshaw
has instructed his team to head out to the French Magny Cours
circuit in readiness for this weekend's French Grand Prix and
one assumes that Walkinshaw believes that there is a chance
that his team will be on the grid come Sunday afternoon. The
team has been and remains in discussions with shareholders and
several potential investors. The outcome of these discussions
will determine Arrows' future. "We have new investors waiting
to step in and secure our future, but we still have to come to
agreement with existing shareholders", commented Team
Principal, Tom Walkinshaw. "Negotiations are detailed and
complex but we don't intend to give up. We need more time. We
want to do a deal that will satisfy everyone concerned. "We
are still in discussions with all parties and are now moving
into the time-consuming due diligence process with some of the
potential investors," Walkinshaw continued. "I have instructed
the team to dispatch the cars and transporters to Magny Cours
this evening and we will do all in our power to compete at the
weekend. We'll keep on trying and hope that common sense and
responsibility prevail. We'll keep you informed..."
7/16/02 - Fresh doubt was
cast over the future of the Arrows Formula One team on Tuesday
as it emerged that the team had yet to leave for the Magny
Cours circuit. A team spokeswoman confirmed that the team's
transporters had yet to leave their Leafield base, when
normally teams would send out their equipment by the Monday
preceding the Grand Prix. The spokeswoman confirmed that
talks continued over the future of the team and that at this
time there was no conclusion. 7/16/02 - Tom Walkinshaw says today is D-Day for Arrows. Either
the team is sold by close of business today, or they miss the
French GP this weekend. Red Bull is still rumored to be
the buyer, with Craig Pollock taking the helm.

7/16/02

Will NASCAR start 43 in New
Hampshire? For the first time since September 1996,
NASCAR may be in jeopardy of not being able to fill a 43 car
starting grid this weekend at Loudon. With only 41 cars
entered in this weekend's New Hampshire 300 at New Hampshire
International Speedway, expect some last minute heroics by the
NASCAR brass to entice some other teams to make the jaunt up
the New England coast to fill out the field. In the past,
whenever a field has been short, a Busch Grand National or
ARCA entry usually jumps at the chance to run a Winston Cup
race, but this weekends companion series are the Craftsmen
Trucks.

7/16/02

Dr. Olvey to speak at
Concussion conference Career-ending concussions are
a danger in nearly every sport and auto-racing is no
exception. The specter of an impact that causes temporary or
permanent damage to an athlete's head is something that every
CART driver deals with when they buckle into a race car, and
it is something that the CART Medical Staff is well-prepared
to deal with. It is that level of preparedness that has led to
CART Medical Director Dr. Steve Olvey being called upon to
speak on the subject of concussions and the new advances made
in treating such injuries during this weekend's University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center conference titled "New Development
in Sports-Related Concussion" in Pittsburgh. Dr. Olvey will be
one of a number of physicians, trainers and athletes speaking
at the three-day conference, which will take place at the
Westin Convention Center from Friday, July 19 to Sunday, July
21. Dr. Olvey will be addressing the topic of concussions in
motorsports, and will be joined by Dr. Mark Lovell, who is the
Director of Concussion Testing for Championship Auto Racing
Teams. The conference will cover not only recognizing and
preventing concussions, but also the new advances made in
post-concussion testing. Parties interested in attending the
conference can get registration information and a schedule of
events at
www.impacttest.com.

7/16/02

England ticket and corporate
sales ahead of schedule The popularity of the CART
FedEx Championship Series in the United Kingdom is reflected
in the return of Championship Auto Racing Teams to the new
Rockingham venue, and is now being shown at the box office as
ticket sales for the September 13-14 Rockingham 500 continue
to increase. The new oval track lowered ticket prices and
instituted a half-price plan for children that has met with
quick acceptance from the British fans. Rockingham Motor
Speedway announced Tuesday that over half of the 7,000-seat
South Grandstand was sold out in just two weeks and more than
13,000 tickets have already been sold with two months
remaining before the Champ Cars roar to life on the 1.479-mile
oval. The corporate sector has been even more active in
purchasing space for the CART event, as less than a dozen of
the 58 corporate hospitality suites are still open, prompting
track officials to consider creating additional corporate
facilities to meet the demand. "CART and Rockingham are all
about providing great value for money and that appeals to
corporate and individual customers alike" said Rockingham
Chief Executive David Grace. "Our new, tighter, two-day format
guarantees a full day of action from 9:00 a.m. on both the
Friday qualifying day and on the Saturday. You get a great
view of the entire track from every seat. Add to that the
legendary openness and accessibility that CART, its teams and
the drivers are very proud of, and it's no wonder that the
Rockingham 500 is being seen as a 'must do' weekend event."

7/16/02

Rudd out of #28 car
Both Robert Yates and Ricky Rudd said on Monday it's unlikely
they will be back together again next year. Will Rudd
retire?

7/16/02

Franchitti
visits new Denver track In this Denver Post
article, Dario Franchitti says "That will be a passing
spot, for sure," Franchitti said of the backstretch. "I think
we're looking at a bare minimum of 180 (mph). It's a really
fast entry on to that straight, and it's a long straight.
We're looking at some high speeds." This AP
article has more about the visit. There is also
this Rocky Mountain News
article.

Local media continues to pound
CART at every race2nd
UPDATE A reader responds
to Bud Shaw article - point for point. 7/15/02 -
Called the credential office at Cleveland. Bud Shaw (author of
the article) never picked up his media credentials. He was
never at Burke all weekend. Therefore, he didn't write his
story based on what he saw at the track, but was put up to it
by others. 7/15/02 - With friends like that, who needs
enemies. At every race CART has gone to this year, the
local newspaper has printed stories that drive fans away from
the ticket booths and damage CART and its image. The
underlying strategy (whoever is putting them up to it) seems
apparent - badmouth CART in everyone of their markets before
and during race weekend with the goal of killing ticket sales
and eventually drive it out of business. The latest came
in this weekends Cleveland Plain Dealer. This
article brought up these damaging remarks - The "Roar
by the Shore" is still the working title of the annual race
along the lakefront. CART, though, is a different animal from
what it was before the split with the Indy Racing League. It
is six years since that happened and what we hear now from
CART is the roar of a mouse, not the king of the
jungle......the sense of CART's future is that it's AAA
heading toward AA.

7/15/02

Morgan Shepard to try Winston
Cup
Morgan Shepherd announced today that plans have changed
concerning his decision to run both the Craftsman Truck and
Winston Cup events next weekend at New Hampshire International
Speedway. "We have decided to park the truck for a while and
concentrate on getting our #89 Cup car ready for New
Hampshire, said Shepherd. "We are looking forward to working
with our old friends and competitors Dave and Roger Dion. I'm
not sure exactly when our truck program will resume, but for
now we need to put our full efforts into the Winston Cup car."
"We want to be sure to thank our fans and loyal supporters. We
appreciate their thoughts and prayers and hope they will
continue. We are looking forward to New Hampshire and pray for
a good run." The last Winston Cup event Morgan competed in was
on February 21, 1999 when he drove the number 90 car owned by
Junie Donlavey in the Dura Lube/Big KMart 400 at North
Carolina Speedway.

7/15/02

So what will Tony do about Al
Unser, Jr.
As described in this
RPM.ESPN.com
article by Robin Miller, that's a question several
people are asking today about a race driver with an apparent
substance abuse problem. If not addressed, it could cause an
incident on a track. "I've got a driver and a car in that
series and I am definitely concerned about his (Unser)
condition," said Morris Nunn, who campaigns Felipe Giaffone in
the IRL. "I plan to call Tony George on Monday morning and ask
him what he's going to do." Toyota's Jim Aust, whose company
will provide power to Kelley Racing and Unser in the IRL next
year, is equally concerned. "We have a moral turpitude clause
in our contracts with teams that utilize our engines and we
expect them to uphold their drivers to terms of the
agreement," said Aust. "We have to uphold the integrity of
this sport and at the speeds these drivers travel they have to
be able to trust each other. I hope Tony George will do the
right thing."

7/15/02

CART Ladder Series news
Ryan Hunter-Reay became the
first three-time winner of the year in the Toyota Atlantic
Championship while Davy Cook scored his maiden victory in the
Barber Dodge Pro Series in CART Driver Development Series
action over the weekend from Cleveland's Burke Lakefront
Airport. More...

7/15/02

NASCAR wins the ratings
war...again
Not even the lockout of Pepe the Prawn from Chicagoland
Speedway property could stop a landslide ratings victory for
NASCAR this weekend. The race set a blistering pace with a 5.0
overnight rating and 12 share. The final half-hour of the
broadcast pulled in a 5.9 rating. The overnight rating is 4
percent higher than last year. No sports TV competition was
even close. Fox’s regional coverage of three Major League
Baseball games on Saturday finished second with a 3.0 rating
and 8 share, followed by the final round of the Greater
Milwaukee Open on ABC on Sunday, with a 2.0 rating and 5
share. For every half-hour from 2:30-6 p.m. ET ,the Tropicana
400 on NBC even beat the combined network sports competition
(ABC - PGA/Senior PGA and CBS - CART/NFL QB Challenge/Tour de
France). Saturday's Busch race earned a 2.1 overnight rating
and 5 share, the same rating as last year.
MotorsportsTV.com

7/15/02

Zanardi invited to be Grand
Marshall in Surfers
Alex Zanardi, who lost both
legs above the knee in a crash last September in Germany, is
being invited back to the site of his last race victory as
grand marshal of the Indy 300 in October. The 1998 Gold Coast
winner and two-time CART champion is walking again with the
aid of prosthetic legs and two canes. He attended the Molson
Indy in Toronto two weeks ago and waved both the green and
checkered flags. Indy 300 chief executive Geoff Jones said
Monday he hoped Zanardi would take up the invitation to return
to the Gold Coast for the Oct. 27 race. "It makes great
sense," said Jones. "He is highly popular in this country.
He's a great personality and is recovering from a major trauma
injury and he would be an excellent person as our grand
marshal." AP

7/15/02

Beardsley signs up for Infiniti
Pro Series
2000 SCCA Formula Mazda
National Champion Matt Beardsley will make his Indy Racing
Infiniti Pro Series debut July 20 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Beardsley will drive the No. 12 Alpine Bank Old-Republic Land
Title Beardsley Motorsports entry. “It’s like a big dream come
true,” Beardsley said. “We had to work really hard, and it
kind of came together really quickly here in the last two
months. Our plans are to do this year and next year in the
Infiniti Pro Series, and depending on sponsorship and what we
put together, I’d like to be in an Indy Racing car in 2004 –
at least the Indy 500 in 2004.” Beardsley, 23, from
Breckenridge, Colo., began racing karts at age 9. After
earning several national victories in 125cc class karts, he
advanced to open-wheel formula competition in 1997. Beardsley
competed in the Star Mazda Series (Western Division) and the
SCCA Formula Mazda Series, earning the Formula Mazda national
title in 2000. He earned back-to-back championship titles in
the Formula Mazda Red Line Oval Series in 1999 and 2000.
IRL

CART's Cleveland TV rating
[Editor's Note: CART is doing better in the big city markets
where it races, and hence why the overnight ratings are up.
However, the final rating is usually lower because CART is not
reaching the fans in the smaller markets - i.e. grassroots
Americana. The IRL is doing a better job in those
markets.] The overnight television ratings for Sunday's
Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by U.S. Bank, Round
9 of the CART FedEx Championship Series season, saw the
open-wheel racing series drawing over a million households for
the third straight weekend, according to Nielsen Media
Research. The CART event from Cleveland drew a 1.1 national
rating on CBS Sports with a 3 share, meaning that nearly 1.2
million households were tuned in to the race - won by Patrick
Carpentier. Five markets reported a rating of 2.0 or better,
including the race's home market of Cleveland. New Orleans,
Sacramento and Ft. Myers were among the regions that drew over
a 2 rating, while major markets such as Las Vegas, St. Louis,
Houston and Charlotte were in the 1.5 range. The race was the
fourth out of the five CART events shown on CBS Sports to have
drawn at least a 3 share. The 20-round season will reconvene
after a one-week break for the Molson Indy Vancouver July
26-28 in the streets of Concord Pacific Place for a race which
will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel. CART

7/15/02

Reader comments on CART's
Cleveland attendance
Maybe it's the former investment banker in me coming to the
fore again, but even though the attendance figures were a bit
disappointing, it is relevant to consider that on that day,
CART outdrew the New York Yankees, the world's second-most
successful franchise. Their game against the Indians -- who
are admittedly struggling -- had something like 45,000 for its
game. Perhaps that is approaching capacity, but, still, that
more Clevelanders chose the race over the Yankees is pretty
impressive. Jim Allen

7/15/02

Petty to run special paint
scheme
According to this Boston Globe
article, Kyle Petty will show up at New Hampshire
International Speedway with a special paint scheme. ''Every
time we run at Loudon, we run a black car,'' he said. ''The
Sprint people were supportive and allowed us to do it last
year, so we run a solid black car up there. It's not a diecast
deal. It's nothing like that. It's a personal deal for me.''
So when his #45 Dodge takes the track at NHIS, will it be
solid black again? ''Yeah,'' Petty said, somberly. ''Always.''

7/15/02Industry News

China auto industry booming
China's auto industry car sales could rise a year-on-year 39
percent to one million in 2002, an industry association said
on Monday citing strong sales in first half of the year.
China's carmakers sold 470,200 passenger cars during the first
half of the year, a rise of 36.2 percent from the first six
months of 2001, said an official of the China Association of
Automobile Manufacturers. "This prediction is based on figures
for the first half," the official told Reuters. Rising incomes
and an industry-wide price war following China's entry to the
World Trade Organization last December are bringing prices of
passenger cars within reach of more Chinese, fuelling a boom
in sales. Analysts had earlier estimated China's passenger car
sales would rise to between 750,000 and 800,000 this year,
from 720,000 in 2001. Some analysts said the jump this year
was due partly to changes in vehicle classifications in China.
In the past, Chinese companies licensed to produce vans were
not allowed to sell passenger cars, but that restriction was
lifted in the second half of last year. Some producers
re-classified their vans as large passenger cars to take
advantage of the booming family car market. Total vehicle
sales in China are forecast to rise to three million from last
year's 2.3 million, analysts said. Reuters

7/15/02

Condition of latest oval wall
victim released 4th
UPDATE Matthew Halliday was released from
Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis on July 14 after undergoing
surgery on his left wrist, said Dr. Henry Bock, director of
medical services for the Indy Racing League. Well wishes may
be sent to Halliday at:
Matthew Halliday
c/o Indy Racing League
4565 W. 16th St.
Indianapolis, IN 46222

7/12/02 - Indy Racing Infiniti Pro Series driver
Matthew Halliday was released from the Intensive Care Unit at
Kansas University Medical Center on July 12 and is listed in
good condition, said Dr. Henry Bock, Indy Racing League
director of medical services. Halliday was listed in good
condition July 9, but he began experiencing shortness of
breath later that day. He was moved into the intensive care
unit overnight and diagnosed with bruised lungs. His breathing
improved, allowing him to return to a room. Halliday, 23, was
treated for a concussion, a broken left wrist and a fractured
right ankle after a crash during the inaugural Infiniti Pro
Series race July 7 at Kansas Speedway. 7/10/02 - Matthew Halliday is listed in stable
condition July 10 at the Kansas University Medical Center,
said Dr. Henry Bock, Indy Racing League director of medical
services. Halliday was listed in good condition July 9, but he
began experiencing shortness of breath later that day. He was
moved into the intensive care unit overnight and diagnosed
with bruised lungs and his condition downgraded. One has
to wonder how much this will weigh on Michael Andretti's mind
as he nears the end of his career in CART and ponders a move
to the all-oval IRL series knowing what happened to
drivers like Dale Earnhardt, Adam Petty, Greg Moore, Sam
Schmidt, Kenny Erwin, Eliseo Salazar, Davey Hamilton, Davey
Jones, Jaques Lazier, and the numerous other recent oval wall
victims. 7/8/02 - Indy Racing
Infiniti Pro Series driver Matthew Halliday is listed in good
condition at the Kansas University Medical Center and is
expect to be released July 9. Halliday, 23, was treated for a
concussion, broken left wrist and fractured right ankle
suffered in a crash in the inaugural Infiniti Pro Series race
July 7 at Kansas Speedway, said Dr. Henry Bock, Indy Racing
League director of medical services. The accident occurred in
Turn 2 on Lap 3 of the event. Halliday, a resident of
Indianapolis and native of Auckland, New Zealand, made hard
contact with the outside wall. After his very first
race, wonder what he thinks about oval racing. 7/7/02
- Oval racing, regarded as the most dangerous and costly form of motosports in the world, has sent its first victim to the
hospital. In the inaugural Infiniti Pro race at Kansas,
and with only 12 cars to bump into each other, 4 cars suffered
costly damage and one driver went to the hospital with a
concussion and broken wrist. Johncox, Fike and Luyendyk
crashed in Turn 4, eliminating them from the race. The
right-front wheel on Luyendyk’s No. 5 entry touched the left
rear of Johncox’s No. 8 Rev. 1 Racing Special entry between
Turns 3 and 4, with both cars spinning. Johncox’s twirling car
collected the No. 91 Hemelgarn Racing entry driven by Fike,
and all three cars hit the outside retaining wall in Turn 4.
None of the drivers was hurt. In another accident, Matthew
Halliday suffered a concussion and broken left wrist in a
crash in Turn 2 on Lap 3. Halliday was transported by air to
Kansas University Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., and is awake,
alert and talking.

7/15/02

More passenger cars go turbo
It is a fallacy that CART should abandon it's turbo engine
formula because turbo's are not used in passenger cars.
This year we have seen a rash of passenger cars introduced
with turbochargers. This Autoweek
article on the new Audi is just the latest. Note
the high HP. Turbo technology has gotten much better and
they are no longer as problematic as they once were. We
expect to see more cars introduced with turbos in the coming
year.

7/15/02

Cleveland reduces seating
capacity, attendance up2nd
UPDATE The Cleveland Plain Dealer
article says, judging from the weekend attendance at
the Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland, there is still a lust to
see auto racing at Burke Lakefront Airport. Co-race promoters
IMG Motorsports and CART reported a race-day attendance of
51,317 and a weekend total of 111,438. "You'd always like to
see more tickets sold, but all things considered, it was a
great weekend," said Denny Young, senior vice president and
general manager for IMG. CART, which partnered with IMG
earlier this spring, was equally pleased and looked for even
more in the future. "We're very pleased with the result of our
first partnership between CART and IMG," Adam Saal, CART's
vice president of communications said. "With a full year ahead
of us to promote 2003, we're confident this event can return
to the same level of success it has had before, and perhaps
even exceed it." 7/14/02 - AutoRacing1.com
counted just over 20,000 seats (We came up with 20,240....8
bleachers total -- 7 had 22 rows of 120 seats, one had 16 rows
of 120 seats. There were 10 pit row suites that featured 75
per suite) at Cleveland, less than 25,000 total with Suites.
These numbers were confirmed by IMG staff on Friday. It's been
reported that today's official attendance was 51,317, up from
last years numbers. There certainly was not 26,000
people standing in General Admission today, so perhaps they
have counted those who came just for the post-race concert.
Either way, the stands were full and CART and IMG appeared
happy. The 3-day attendance was 111,438.
Considering IMG must pay taxes on the 111,438 they claim, one
can only assume it's not an artificially inflated number.
7/13/02 - Cleveland has reduced their seating
capacity to just over 21,000 plus suites, down significantly
from years ago when the track claimed over 50,000 seats.
Grandstands used to line the entire length of the airport on
the land side. With general admission, they will be lucky to
have 30,000 on Sunday. There are several reasons for
this downturn 1) The city had cancelled the race and announced
the IRL was coming. This turned off a lot of people.
The decision was later reversed, but it may have been too
late; 2) The City never really gets behind this event like
other cities because they would prefer the airport be closed
and it be converted to waterfront high-rises; 3) the NY
Yankees are in town Sunday after noon against the Cleveland
Indians where over 42,000 are expected in the same time slot.
4) It's always pretty hot and humid on race day, and like we
have seen in Michigan, the heat eventually drives fans to the
comfort of the air conditioned rooms to view the race.

7/15/02

Driver weights to wait until
2003? UPDATE
According to this SpeedTV
article, measuring the minimum weight of Champ Cars at
1550 pounds without the driver will apparently have to wait
until next year. Despite recent announcements that it will
begin factoring the drivers’ weight into the equation at
Mid-Ohio, it now appears that the status quo will prevail.
“The decision to include the drivers’ weight when calculating
the weight of the car was made at a Franchise Board meeting in
(early) June,” said John Lopes, CART vice president of racing
operations, in Cleveland on Sunday morning. “But there are two
camps, those who are in favor of implementing the change as
soon as possible and those who are against making a rules
change in mid-season. 7/13/02 - All the current
CART drivers were weighed here in Cleveland yesterday. An
average will be established and then, starting in Mid-Ohio,
drivers under that average will have ballast added to their
cars, and those over will have ballast removed. As is done in
F1, this takes the drivers weight out of the equation and is a
fair and equitable methodology.

Stoddard desperate to save
Minardi In an attempt to raise money for his F1
concern, Minardi chief Paul Stoddart offered a portion of his
Formula One car collection for auction at the Goodwood
Festival of Speed. Under the hammer went nine Tyrrell
contenders acquired in 1998, plus a 1994-spec Lotus. Topping
the timesheets was the 1982 Tyrrell 011 of Michele Alboreto,
which sold for $55,000, while the Lotus 109 of Mika Salo and
Alex Zanardi netted $48,000. Although failing to raise the
quantity of money hoped for, Minardi report that 'every little
bit helps' for the struggling Faenza concern. We wonder
if he will auction away the shirt off his back next?
Extremely F1 budget requirements coupled with no wins will
ultimately bankrupt most teams.

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